“You really don’t have to be so polite to them. You’re the eldest son of the Hyuga main family,” Hiashi said.
“Respecting one’s elders is only proper.”
Tenriki stood with his eyes lowered, perfectly composed.
Hiashi gave a small nod and let the matter drop.
In truth, he had noticed a change within the clan over the past few months.
The tension between the main and branch families had gradually eased, and even the arguments during clan meetings had become less frequent.
Tenriki deserved much of the credit.
The boy treated members of both families with the same courtesy.
He never openly challenged the clan hierarchy, yet his behavior made it difficult for others to emphasize that divide around him.
“Tenriki, I want to ask you something.”
“Go ahead, Father.”
Hiashi studied him closely.
“What do you think of the division between the main family and the branch family?”
“I don’t agree with it.”
Tenriki answered without hesitation.
“And I hate the Caged Bird Seal.”
Hiashi frowned.
That was not the answer he had expected.
As the head of the main family—and one of the people who benefited most from the existing system—Hiashi naturally believed the division between main and branch families served an important purpose.
The Caged Bird Seal protected the Byakugan and prevented the clan from splintering.
Still, he did not interrupt.
Tenriki continued calmly.
“I like the air better when it’s free.”
The answer seemed almost unrelated, yet Hiashi understood what he meant.
“With the Caged Bird Seal, the Hyuga can remain united,” Hiashi replied.
“It prevents the clan from being divided.”
“That’s only my personal opinion.”
Tenriki did not argue further.
There was no point.
Some beliefs could not be overturned by a few clever sentences.
Besides, he knew what was coming.
In Konoha Year 51, when Tenriki was three years old, Hiashi would kill a Cloud shinobi while protecting Hinata.
Kumogakure would then demand his life in compensation.
And Hizashi Hyuga would ultimately die in his brother’s place.
Perhaps when that day came, Hiashi—the elder of the twin brothers—would finally look at the main and branch family system differently.
Hiashi suddenly changed the subject.
“I’ve been thinking about assigning someone to stay beside you. Someone who can protect you.”
“Who?”
“Neji. He’s the most talented child in the branch family.”
“No.”
“…”
Hiashi stared at him.
Tenriki stared back.
That was apparently the end of the discussion.
On his way back, Tenriki happened to encounter Neji.
“Young Master Tenriki.”
Neji bowed respectfully.
“Brother Neji.”
Tenriki returned the courtesy.
“Next time, don’t call me ‘Lord Tenriki.’ It sounds too distant. ‘Young Master’ is enough.”
Neji blinked before nodding.
“Yes, Young Master.”
At this age, Neji was still an energetic and cheerful child.
There were no crushing expectations from the branch family yet.
No Caged Bird Seal carved into his forehead.
His father was still alive.
And the young master of the main family treated him well.
Why wouldn’t he be happy with his life?
Two years passed.
Konoha Year 51.
Autumn.
In the courtyard of the Hyuga estate stood an enormous tree thick enough that several people together could barely wrap their arms around its trunk.
Beneath it stood a handsome little boy barely 1.1 meters tall.
He wore a short golden robe and held a straight-bladed sword at his side.
His eyes were closed.
Then—
Whoosh.
A gust swept through the courtyard.
Branches trembled overhead.
Hundreds of autumn leaves broke loose and scattered through the air.
Tenriki’s eyes snapped open.
For a fraction of a second, his gaze seemed almost unnaturally sharp.
Click.
The sword left its sheath.
Silver flashes filled the space around him.
Fast.
Precise.
Nearly silent.
There was no wild movement, no wasted strength.
Only one clean slash after another.
Three seconds later—
Click.
The blade returned to its sheath.
The leaves continued drifting downward as though nothing had happened.
Then they touched the ground.
Hiashi stared.
Hundreds of leaves covered the courtyard.
Not one remained intact.
Every single leaf had been cut cleanly into four pieces.
Even with Kage-level strength, Hiashi found himself genuinely stunned.
Hundreds of falling leaves.
Less than three seconds.
Every one divided precisely into quarters.
Taken together, the difficulty was absurd.
Without using chakra, even Hiashi himself could not guarantee such a result.
He’s only three years old…
His expression twitched.
Then pride immediately overwhelmed the disbelief.
As expected of my son.
He really is a genius!
“Brother, that was amazing!”
Three-year-old Hinata looked at Tenriki with open admiration, her small face practically glowing.
Neji stood beside her, equally stunned.
His father had always called him a genius.
Neji had believed it.
Then he met Tenriki.
The comparison was almost unfair.
What none of them knew was that a mechanical notification had just sounded inside Tenriki’s mind.
[Basic Swordsmanship]
Rank: Master
Progress: 100%
[Bottleneck detected.]
[Breakthrough initiated.]
Tenriki’s previously composed expression changed immediately.
A bright smile spread across his face.
Two years.
It finally broke through.
It had taken an absurd amount of training.
“At least ten million proper swings…”
He had barely finished the thought when another notification appeared.
[Breakthrough complete.]
Basic Swordsmanship
Master → Transcendent
[New Ability acquired: Sword Aura.]
Tenriki froze.
Sword Aura?
Now that sounded interesting.
His fingers immediately tightened around the hilt.
Click.
He drew the sword again.
There was no technique behind the motion.
He simply swung at the massive tree in front of him.
The instant the blade moved, Tenriki felt something strange.
A unique energy surged from within his body, rushed down his arm, and gathered around the sword.
The entire process happened almost instantaneously.
Then the energy left the blade.
Invisible.
Transparent.
Impossible to see with the naked eye.
Yet Tenriki could clearly sense it racing forward.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
The tree remained standing.
Tenriki tilted his head.
“Huh?”
He stared at the trunk.
Don’t tell me this Sword Aura is fake.
The thought had barely formed when the upper half of the tree suddenly shifted.
Then it slid sideways.
A perfectly smooth cut appeared across the trunk.
Everyone froze.
The enormous tree began to fall.
BOOM!
It crashed into the building beside it, smashing through part of the structure.
And that was not the end of it.
Behind the tree, a clean line appeared across the courtyard wall.
A moment later, the wall separated along the cut.
Silence.
Hiashi stared.
Hinata stared.
Neji stared.
Then all three sucked in a sharp breath.
One slash?
That had happened from a single slash?
Hiashi’s expression completely collapsed.
No.
Absolutely not.
I must have seen that wrong.
Tenriki had not even begun chakra training yet.
And somehow, with nothing but a sword, his three-year-old son had cut through a massive tree— and the wall behind it.
What the hell was that?!
For perhaps the first time in years, Hiashi felt as though his understanding of the shinobi world had just been kicked over and shattered.
Shock quickly became excitement.
Excitement became delight.
And delight became almost uncontrollable pride.
“Hahaha!”
Hiashi burst into laughter.
“That’s my son! A genius!”
For a brief moment, he could almost see the future.
The Hyuga Clan under Tenriki’s leadership.
Its name rising above Konoha.
Its influence spreading throughout the shinobi world.
Hiashi had long since forgotten how frustrated he had once been when Tenriki refused to begin chakra training.
At the time, he had thought the boy was wasting his talent.
Now?
What wasted talent?
If refusing chakra training had produced this, Hiashi had no complaints whatsoever.
Tenriki walked over to him.
Despite being only three, he carried himself with a composure far beyond his age.
“Father.”
“Yes?”
“Starting tomorrow, I want to learn how to use chakra.”
Hiashi’s eyes lit up.
“Good!”
He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and laughed.
“Very good. I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do.”